How You Can Help: Ways to Support YVLT

Yampa Valley Land Trust needs your help to preserve the rich quality of life enjoyed by all who live, visit, work and play in the Yampa Valley and Northwest Colorado. Your donation supports important conservation projects close to where your heart is.

Open land protection is critical to our community’s health, stability, economy, and quality of life. We truly value your contributions and will work to achieve the best return on investment in the form of new land conservation!

GIFTS OF CASH, REAL ESTATE, OR MARKETABLE SECURITIES

Cash is always greatly appreciated and needed to support Yampa Valley Land Trust’s overhead, staff, daily operations, and other costs and expenses. Real estate and other similar gifts provide YVLT with marketable assets to further conservation in the Yampa Valley and may provide you with federal and/or state tax benefits. Land with important conservation values donated to YVLT can first be conserved!

Stocks, bonds, mutual funds or index funds also provide great opportunities to leverage your gifts. You can transfer shares to YVLT and: (1) receive a charitable deduction for the current appreciated value of such shares; and (2) reduce or possibly avoid paying capital gains tax owed if you had sold those shares. Discuss these options with your tax advisor.

work with YVLT to conserve your land

If you own land in Routt, Moffat, Jackson, or Rio Blanco Counties and are considering protecting your property with a conservation easement, give us a call at 970.879.7240 or stop by the YVLT office in Steamboat Springs and we can explain how the process works. You may be eligible for compensation through grants and/or federal and state tax benefits.

LEVERAGE FOUNDATION AND YVLT SUPPORTER CHALLENGE GRANTS

Make a multi-year pledge to support our operations and help us match any of the challenge grants that we usually have in the works from foundations and supporters of Yampa Valley Land Trust – or create a challenge grant of your own!

CHARITABLE REMAINDER TRUSTS AND OTHER PLANNED GIFTS

Provide Yampa Valley Land Trust or yourself with a steady income stream — and with a remainder trust you can leave a significant future gift to the organization. Both arrangements may entitle you to considerable tax savings.

BEQUESTS

Name Yampa Valley Land Trust in your will and make a lasting contribution to YVLT and to land conservation in Northwest Colorado: the uniquely special place where we live, work, and play. Our community-based organization is the only land trust that works exclusively in Northwest Colorado, for Northwest Colorado.

Colorado gives day

Colorado Gives Day is just once a year, but you can support YVLT and other nonprofits in Colorado year-round by visiting the Colorado Gives website.

Ranchland Heritage Conservation Initiative

Yampa Valley Land Trust embarked on a comprehensive regional ranchland protection program for Northwest Colorado, the Ranchland Heritage Conservation Initiative, an official Colorado Economic Development Commission Enterprise Zone Contribution Project. This is a unique opportunity to significantly increase land conservation efforts in the Yampa River and White River Watersheds – the heart of the Southern Rocky Mountain eco-region.

YVLT’s Ranchland Heritage Conservation Initiative is a broad, multi-year, multi-project campaign that is designed to protect a variety of conservation priorities, including important agricultural lands and critical wildlife habitat, as well as sagebrush shrubland, aspen forest and riparian landscapes that define the eco-region of Northwest Colorado. Over 20,000 acres have been identified as eligible for the program.

The Initiative furthers YVLT’s mission to protect the region’s beautiful working landscapes and prime ecological features so they will continue to be an inspiring part of our lives and the lives of generations to follow. The RHCI is a unique chance to play a strategic, proactive role in preserving the region’s agriculture, biodiversity, and community values.

How the Ranchland Heritage Conservation Initiative works:

Contributions of $250 or more to YVLT’s Ranchland Heritage Conservation Initiative are eligible to participate in the Enterprise Zone tax credit program. This includes contributions for conservation easement acquisitions and/or YVLT’s day-to-day overhead and operations to conduct Initiative transactions.

In addition to your State and Federal deduction, cash donations earn a 25% tax credit against Colorado income tax.

The credit can not exceed a $100,000 annual limit or the total amount of the taxpayer’s income for the tax year for which the credit is claimed.

Any excess credit may be carried forward for a period of up to five years.

The $100,000 credit limit can be generated each year whether or not there is any carryover from prior years.

Contribution checks should be made out to Yampa Valley Land Trust, with a memo on the check to direct funds to: Ranchland Heritage Conservation Initiative.

After the contribution has been received, YVLT will provide each Initiative contributor participating in the Enterprise Zone tax credit program with an authorization certificate to be filed with the Colorado Department of Revenue in order to claim the tax credit, along with acknowledgement of your contribution. An important note for year-end tax purposes: The State program requires that the certificate reflect the date your contribution is received by Yampa Valley Land Trust.